Accountants for Animators

Accounting and tax advice for animators and animation studios

As accountants for animators, we’re only too aware of Britain’s amazing reputation for the production of quality animation. From big names such as Aardman to boutique studios producing animation for advertising, it’s a growing sector.

We provide day-to-day accounting and compliance support to animation businesses, as well as business and tax advice to help animation production companies thrive and grow.

The first part of that is about taking care of financial tasks so that you and your creative team can focus on what you’re best at. From registrations and returns to HMRC and Companies House to bookkeeping, payroll and accounts administration, we can take care of everything. That includes your annual corporation tax return, which is your chance to claim essential reliefs and allowances to keep your animation company’s tax bill down.

The second part is where things get exciting. We can provide monthly or quarterly management accounting reports to help you stay on track, spot problems and jump on opportunities. Long-term business planning will help you strategise – and secure capital from investors and lenders.

Tax relief for animators

The UK Government provides a dedicated animation tax relief (ATR). We can help you assess whether your project qualifies and manage your claim as part of your corporation tax return. To access ATR, the programme you’re working on must:

• qualify as British according to a cultural test managed by the British Film Institute 
• qualify as an official co-production with a UK treaty partner
• be intended for broadcast, including online.

The production company must be registered to pay corporation tax in the UK. At least 51% of your total core project expenditure must be on animation and at least 10% of core expenditure must be in the UK.

In addition, you might also be eligible for research and development (R&D) tax relief if your animation studio undertakes research to solve a technical problem in your field. A surprisingly wide range of projects can qualify – get in touch and we’ll ask the right questions to find out if that might apply to you.